Broken Boundaries
by Evenstar1002
Summary: Due to (un)fortunate circumstances, Harvey ends up staying at Donna's apartment for a night. Tension rises between the two of them and when Harvey walks in on Donna trying to relieve some of that tension, it finally sets things into motion. Pre-canon Darvey (season 8A-ish), rated M


_A/N: When I stumbled across this prompt on twitter, I somehow felt called out by it - and I asked myself at least a dozen times what had gotten into me to wanting to try and fulfill it. But somehow, it got done in the end._

_The prompt is the following: __"Pre-canon. Darvey share an apartment/one is staying with the other for some reason. One of them overhears the other getting off. Author choice if they interrupt or not." (by Ali (darveywhiskey)). Needless to say, this is M, so you're warned :)_

* * *

_**Broken Boundaries**_

~o~o~

Darkness creeps through the halls of the 50th floor, as Donna makes her way from the still busy bullpen back to her office. She's already halfway down the hallway, that's almost deserted at this time of the night. when she hears muffled cursing following after her. Knowing immediately where it's coming from and sensing his agitation already in the vibrato of his voice, Donna turns around on her heels and walks back to Harvey's office. She finds him nervously tapping away on his notebook while his cellphone lies next to it with the screen still turned on and flashing Harvey is so immersed that he doesn't look up when Donna comes to a halt in the opened door and only after a few moments of watching him and getting a feeling of the situation, does she make herself known.

"Hey," she says softly, not wanting to startle him.

When Harvey looks up and finds her standing there, a relieved expression flashes over his face for a second, before it quickly disappears again. "Hey," he replies, his tone stricken with stress.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yes," Harvey states a little too quickly and eagerly for it to be the truth. Donna looks at him scrutinizingly. "No," he corrects himself with a sigh. "One of the pipes in my shower broke and flooded the bathroom. When it started leaking in the apartment beneath, the tenants called the janitor and he just called me from my apartment."

"Oh shit. Is it bad?" Donna walks into his office then, taking the seat in front of him.

"Bad enough that I have to look for a place to stay tonight." He's focused on his laptop screen again. "Did you know that hotel room prices have multiplied tenfold?" He grumbles frustratedly.

"There is a trade fair this week. And the Tony Awards this weekend. You'll be lucky if you can even find a decent hotel room on such a short notice at all."

Harvey looks up from his laptop with a raised eyebrow. "How do you know that stuff?"

"Because I'm-"

"Donna," Harvey finishes her sentence. "I know," he adds softly; in that special tone that's reserved only for her.

He's using it more often these days, Donna can't help but notice, and the more often it happens the harder it gets to suppress the butterflies that want to erupt in her stomach. It's the very reason why she shouldn't be saying what she is about to say but it's also the very reason why she couldn't _not_ say it.

"You can stay with me."

"Oh no, don't worry. I can't ask that of you, Donna," Harvey counters immediately.

"You're not. I'm _offering_," Donna corrects him and the emphasis in her words leaves no doubt that her offer isn't just out of courtesy but because she truly wants to help him out.

"But I don't want you to have any troubles because of me. I really can just look for a hotel," Harvey tries again, but he's already wavering.

"Please, Harvey. Why would you wanna stay at a hotel if you can have the comfy couch at _La Casa Paulsen_? It'll be of more help if you take the money for that hotel room and donate it to charity or the clinic or you know... _Prada_," Donna jokes with a wink of her eye. "Just don't spend it on something unnecessary, okay?"

Harvey contemplates her words for a second, looking back down at the screen that's flashing with horrendous prices or hotels on the outskirts of town. "Okay. I guess I'll stay with you then," Harvey agrees, as a smile spreads on his lips. "But you better have the best breakfast buffet I've ever seen."

"Oh please. You haven't had a decent breakfast in 13 years. So don't start making _that_ a requirement," Donna shoots back with a laugh.

"And you would know that _how_ exactly?"

"What? That a cup of coffee and a bagel at the most has been your breakfast for over a decade? Have you forgotten that I know you?" Donna asks with question marks vibrating through her voice.

"No," Harvey replies, the banter all of a sudden gone from his voice. "No, I haven't."

"Good," Donna replies and the smile on her lips softens her voice to a degree that has Harvey reconsider his decision for a moment, as he feels his heartbeat accelerating. "When will you be ready to leave?"

~o~o~

Ray picks Harvey and Donna up an hour later, an overnight bag and a new suit stored in the back of the car, where the driver had put them after having fetched the items from Harvey's apartment.

"How does it look over there?" Harvey wants to know, after he and Donna had gotten comfortable in their seats.

"It's… not _that_ bad…" Ray mumbles, eyes strictly fixed on the traffic before him. It doesn't take an empathetic pro like Donna to hear that he was lying. Or at least not telling the entire truth.

"Not _that_ bad?" Harvey repeats, forming the statement into a question.

"Well… I've seen four men running around the condo, drying up the place and already fixing the wall. I'm sure it'll be back to the way it was in no time," Ray tries to reassure his employer.

It doesn't really work and Donna can feel the agitation rise inside of Harvey again. Without thinking about it, she reaches for his hand that's lying on the leathery space next to him, squeezing it for just a moment. His breath hitches audibly and their eyes meet. They don't touch. As an unspoken rule, they just _don't_ touch. And for a reason. Because it blurs artificial lines that are already flimsy on a good day, much less, when they are touching. For a moment longer than deemed necessary, their gazes and hands stay locked as the tension and heat between them expands. Only seconds later, Donna pulls her hand away as quickly as she had reached for him, breaking the contact and leaving them both feeling acutely empty.

"I'm sure you won't even notice anything has happened at all, once they are done. You'll see." She adds with words and a gentle smile, before looking outside, pretending that what had just transpired between them didn't happen.

And what exactly _had_ just happened between them anyway? Harvey leans back with a sigh, looking out of the window as well. What _is_ happening between them? Because something is clearly changing. Has been changing for a while now. He can't exactly pinpoint when it had started but all of a sudden, from one day to the next, they are either fighting and yelling at each other angrily or they are talking about pulling pigtails and him jerking off to images of the other time. And despite them still pretending that things between them are 'normal', they've probably never been farther from being 'normal' than they are right now.

Ray expertly navigates the car through the city, while the couple in the backseat has fallen utterly silent, both lost in their own thoughts. They take a quick detour to make a stop at Gianno's, picking up dinner before heading straight for Donna's place. By the time they arrive there and get settled in at the dining table, the tension between them seems to have dissolved again. The pair falls into an easy and unforced conversation as they eat their pizzas; Harvey talking about the latest case he's been working on and Donna in return telling him about the escalating competition between the summer associates and their regular associates. When they are finished, Donna gets rid of the empty boxes while Harvey refills their glasses of wine and moves them over to the coffee table by the couch.

"What would you be doing now if I wasn't here?" Harvey wants to know, studying Donna as she shifts around to find a comfortable position on the sofa beside him.

"I don't know… I'm too exhausted to read, so I'd probably end up watching a movie or something?"

"Then let's watch a movie," Harvey suggests, inching backwards to make himself more comfortable as well.

A throaty chuckle reverberates through the room. "How would we even _begin_ to find one that we'd both enjoy?"

"We don't. I want you to pick a movie _you_ would watch if I wasn't here," Harvey responds sincerely, leaving no doubt about the truth behind his words.

"But…. why?" Donna asks flabbergasted, taken aback by his unusual request.

"Because I want to get a glimpse of _Donna_. It's been weeks since we sat down to have drinks and talk about non work-related stuff… and now I get to have a chance to experience private Donna first hand. So just… pick whatever you're in the mood for."

His little speech catches Donna off-guard, the words clearly not what she'd have expected from him. "Even if it makes you cry?"

"Oh please. I don't cry because of movies," Harvey drawls out matter-of-factly and it's the convinced tone in his voice that triggers Donna wanting to challenge his statement.

"Well. Then you just decided what we're going to watch," Donna explains mischievously. She knows it's a bad idea, knows it the second the idea crosses her mind. Because watching _any_ movie with Harvey would be a challenge all by itself but a romantic drama? Probably the worst one to pick of them all. And yet, somehow, the need to prove him wrong defeats any rational thought.

So that's how they find themselves cuddled up on the sofa ten minutes later, her at one end, him at the other, with the opening credits of _The Notebook_ lighting up the TV. For the better part of the movie, Donna watches Harvey from the corner of her eye, finding his reactions far more entertaining than following the storyline for the three hundred and sixty-eighth time. Plus, she couldn't risk missing out on his tears despite being convinced that those, if they were to happen at all, wouldn't spill before the end. In the meantime though, Donna took great pleasure in the varying emotions flashing over his face. Him chuckling under his breath during those first, awkward moments of the protagonists meeting and falling love, him rolling his eyes or sighing exasperatedly during extra cheesy moments and then him shifting around nervously, when things heat up on the screen. That scene is also the first time Harvey almost catches her staring at him, as his gaze drifts towards her without a warning. Donna reacts quickly enough however and focuses on the TV for a moment instead, watching Allie and Noah passionately make out as they stumble towards the bedroom. All the while, she is still sensing Harvey's intent eyes resting on her and involuntarily, she pulls the blanket all the way up to her chin. She buries her nose in the fluffy fabric, trying to block out Harvey's scent, that all of a sudden seems to become too overpowering and has her blood boiling and skin prickling all over her body. It isn't really helping that she has to watch the scene unfurl now, the soft sighs and moans stoking the flames inside of her further. And even when the sex scene ends a few minutes later, it takes a long while before Donna allows herself to refocus on Harvey, who has his eyes fixed on the screen again by then.

The last minutes of _The Notebook_ roll around in no time and Donna prays that she would win this little game they had going on. And sure enough, the moment Noah slips into the hospital bed with Allie, their hands and arms intertwining, Harvey's eyes glass over. He crosses his arms in front of his chest and Donna can see how his breathing slows down as he watches the ending unfold. It doesn't suffice to make him cry for real, but there are definitely tears in his eyes when the nurse finds the married couple the next morning and Donna decides that is good enough for her to have won the challenge.

"Look at that… Harvey '_I don't cry because of movies'_ Specter shedding a tear when two people who had loved each other for all their lives die in each other's arms," she mumbles triumphantly, when the ending credits start to appear on the darkened screen.

Harvey quickly wipes the back of his hand over his eyes, before he moves to look at her. "Yeah well," he shrugs in defeat. "It's a beautiful thought, that's all."

"What is?" Donna wants to know, turning her body around so she could get a better look at him as well.

Harvey shrugs again. "The thought that at the end of your life, you get to hold the love of your life in your arms."

Emotions are burning in his eyes, that are growing with every second that passes. It takes her by surprise the intensity he's emanating all of a sudden. How easy it would be to get lost in it, in his eyes and the feelings she thinks are there, even though he had proven time and again that they didn't mean what she'd always believed they meant. And that realization is what ultimately makes her close off her own emotions as quickly as she can, keeping the conversation light.

She puts on a smile to cover her thoughts. "Harvey Specter. When did you turn into such a sap?"

"Well, it seems like Lipschitz broke something inside of me instead of fixing it," Harvey half-jokingly says.

"I can see how a session with Louis could do that to you, yeah," Donna chuckles, reaching for her glass of wine and taking a sip.

Harvey looks at her, his lips twitching as if he wants to say something more. Donna eyes him curiously but he doesn't continue.

"What is it?" She tries to carefully dig deeper while at the same time not wanting to push him too far.

He hesitates for only a moment, contemplating how much he should or could tell her. "I… I didn't mean the couple's therapy session."

Harvey's reply surprises her and it takes her a second to catch up. "What did you mean then?"

"I saw him again a couple of days later… to work through some more stuff with him," he clarifies, because deep down he knows he can trust her with the truth.

"I didn't know that…."

Harvey laughs nervously. "Looks like you don't know _everything_ after all, do you?"

They smile at each other wordlessly, as a whole conversation is transpiring between their eyes that tells so much more than their words ever could.

"Are you still seeing him?" Donna wants to know after a short moment, hoping that he would be willing to share more with her.

"No… it's just been a handful of sessions, really."

"And could he help you?"

"Yeah. I think he did. I'm seeing things more clearly now," Harvey nods, a convinced expression softening his features.

Donna studies Harvey for a second or two, trying to figure out how much further she could go. He seemed relaxed enough, his eyes open and inviting as they look at each other. Deciding to be brave, her next question slips out of her. "What kind of things?"

There is a momentary silence again, but one that doesn't last for very long. "Well… for one… that my fear of losing the people that I love shouldn't be standing in the way of letting them know that I love them." Harvey looks her straight in the eyes now, as if he isn't worrying about what she might think or interpret from his words.

His eyes are unwavering and it overwhelms Donna that he would just put it out there like that, openly and honestly, and for the first time in a long time she doesn't really know what to say. Doesn't know how to deal with this version of Harvey, that she always knew had been in there but that still surprises her, now that he apparently had decided to show it to her.

Donna is transported back to the last time they've been sitting here on her couch in a similar situation; drinking wine, talking, walls dropping; on the verge of _something_. It feels the same as it did back then, down to the nervous tingling that flickers in the pit of her stomach. But just as it is intensifying, another feeling is joining in: _fear_. To get her hopes up once more and get them crushed in the very next second. The pain of these days and weeks and months is still ever-present, as if it had happened yesterday, and it's that pain that makes her the one to withdraw herself from the situation this time around.

"I… we should go to bed… it's late," Donna suggests, untangling herself from the blanket and getting up from her sofa, without waiting for a reply from Harvey.

"Donna, wait," he tries to stop her, after she had started to move away. It does make her pause for a moment and the two of them get lost in each other's eyes once more.

"What?" She asks against her better judgement, crossing her arms in front of her body protectively as she waits for him.

And waits. _And waits_. While Harvey remains silent.

"Okay…" Donna sighs heavily. "I'm going to get you sheets, a pillow and a blanket then," Donna explains and heads for her bedroom without another word.

Ten minutes later, they've set up the sofa for Harvey, while tension and awkwardness had filled the heavy silence as they've worked side by side. Before Donna retreats back to her room, she tells Harvey to make himself feel at home and that she had put out towels for him in the bathroom.

Harvey heads for the shower first and despite everything that had happened – or maybe because of it? – the thought of him in her shower, naked, water dropping over his undoubtedly toned body, is further stoking the fire that had started earlier. She tries to quench it, to dispel it to the black abyss of her soul, where all the other unwanted feelings are residing, but it seems to be getting harder and harder to do so.

Once Harvey is finished, Donna takes a quick shower as well, hoping to drown the desire in the drain. But if anything, the hot water and his fading scent only leave her even more wired than before and with a frustrated groan, she slips under the covers and prays for sleep to come quickly.

~o~o~

Sleep doesn't come quickly for Harvey. He's twisting and turning to find the perfect sleeping position only to end up worse than before. Not because the sofa isn't one of the most comfortable surfaces he's ever been lying on but because the thoughts in his head keep multiplying with every movement that he makes. Groaning, he gets up at last and pads over into the kitchen to get a bottle of water from the fridge. Downing the liquid from the small bottle in one go, he relishes in the coldness that's rolling down his throat and cools him from the inside. He walks over to the windows overlooking the city, his gaze drifting with no focus whatsoever, while he fights against the regrets that are threatening to crush him.

What the hell was wrong with him? It would have been so easy to tell her. Everything. What he's been feeling. For her. What he wants. With her. _Everything_. And he knows, without a doubt, has seen it in her eyes, that he wouldn't have scared her off. That she had longed for him to finally make right what he had so royally screwed up the last time they had been in the same situation, or all the other times since then. He feels, _knows_, that they are on the same page. Finally. Want the same things. Then why, _just_ _why_, couldn't he open his damn mouth? '_Fuck'_ he curses quietly, letting his hand run through his hair frustratingly. How many more chances does he think he would get? After already having let way too many pass in the past twelve years? How much longer would he just sit by and do nothing? How many more opportunities would he get? Or how much longer would it take until someone would swoop in and sweep her off her feet? '_Fuck'_, Harvey groans again, as the disappointment in himself grows. He has to make it right with her. Because they just couldn't go on this way any longer. _He_ couldn't go on this way any longer.

Praying that he would get another chance with her in the morning, he crosses the living room to head for the bathroom, before he would try this sleeping thing once again. Harvey practically tiptoes around the apartment, not wanting to disturb the silence that had settled since Donna had disappeared in her bedroom after her shower. Harvey is just rounding the corner to the bathroom, when he hears _it_. The rustling of sheets. And a muffled moan. Electricity runs through his body, setting every nerve ending on alert. Like a magnet he's drawn to the closed bedroom door only a few feet away, although he knows he should be running the other way.

For a moment, there is silence on the other end of the door and Harvey almost starts believing that Donna had only been moving around in her sleep. He's about walk away, exactly what he should have been doing anyway, when he hears it again. A soft moan. A dull rustling of sheets. A heavy sigh. Instantaneously, another wave of shock runs through Harvey's system, as the realization of what she is most probably doing sinks in. He holds his breath, out of fear and curiosity and guilt. And because the arousal that's all of a sudden washing over him robs him of his breath even more. Mental images form behind his eyes that make his mind spin. That make his blood start rushing hotly from head to toe, before it starts gathering in his middle.

It's not the first time those kind of pictures invade his mind – he has told Donna as much not too long ago – and yet, with them only being separated by a thin, wooden door, those images are clearer than ever before. Her strawberry golden waves, probably still damp from her shower, splaying around her; her red lips slightly parted as heavy exhales escape her; one hand gliding over her freckled upper body, fondling with her breasts as her dark nipples rise beneath her teasing fingers; her other hand hiding beneath the covers, touching her most sensitive parts; sliding back and forth between her folds effortlessly. He can picture it all so clearly, can almost feel her on his fingertips; her heat, her wetness. Her intoxicating scent wafts around him; the sweet fragrance of rose and magnolia that's filling his nose calming him down with its familiarity and exciting him with anticipation all the same.

Harvey doesn't know how long he's standing there, listening to Donna pleasuring herself. For sure long enough to deem all of this very, very inappropriate. And most certainly long enough for his length beginning to react to her moans and the pictures in his head. Almost on its own accord, Harvey's right hand comes up to cup himself through his boxer shorts and he has to bite his tongue not to groan out loud when he finds the burgeoning erection growing beneath his touch. That's when he knows he definitely has to leave or else he would probably embarrass himself and destroy their relationship beyond repair. And he can feel it too, the will to start moving, as it slowly tingles down into his legs and makes him slightly lift his right one to turn around.

Just then, another sound freezes him dead in his tracks. A soft '_Harvey'_ echoes through the night and bolts through his heart like an arrow. It's so soft that for a moment he wonders if the desire-induced haze in his mind had made it up. But he hears it again right then, a little louder, followed by another breathy groan. More blood starts to coil between his legs and the need to get to her, to finally make her his, becomes the center of his universe. Exactly what she had always been to him anyway.

Energy courses through him. An impulse to do _something_. To get to her. To tell her. Everything that he should have told her earlier. To kiss her. And to show her. Because he just couldn't let one more moment slip through his fingers. Before any other thought crosses his mind, before he can overthink or talk himself out of it, he lifts his hand and knocks on the door. And waits. Would she pretend to be asleep? Would she meet him at the door? Would she yell at him? Dozens of scenarios play over in his head, until it's a guarded and hollow '_come_ _in' _that invites him into her bedroom.

The faint scent of her arousal lays in the air as Harvey walks into her room. It's subtle enough that he might not have recognized it at all, if not for the fact that it had ingrained itself into his nostrils and on the tip of his tongue all those many years ago. The mental images of the only other time he's been in here with her come rushing back like a tidal wave and almost knock him off of his feet.

"Harvey? Is everything okay?" Donna asks confused, the silver moonlight shining in from the window to her left illuminating her face.

"I… yeah… everything's okay." Tentatively, Harvey walks closer and comes to a halt right beside her bed.

"Then what…." Donna clears her throat, inching upwards to rest her head against the headboard. "What are you doing in here?"

Harvey can see how agitated she becomes and he wishes he'd have thought about what to say to her before he had knocked on her door. Instead, he's standing there rendered immobile and speechless, with Donna looking at him the way that she does.

"Harvey, say something." Donna whispers in an almost pleading tone.

"I was on my way to the toilet when I heard you…. When I heard my name…."

"Oh my god…" Donna breaks the eye contact for a moment and Harvey is almost convinced that a blush is gracing her cheeks. "Did…. did you eavesdrop?"

"_No_! I mean… I…" He breaks off, all of a sudden feeling as if he's overstepping a million boundaries all at once. But it's too late to go back now, Harvey knows. "Donna, you _moaned_ my name… I… I couldn't just walk away."

"Yeah, right," Donna huffs. "Because we both know you aren't a gentleman…"

"Donna…"

"No, Harvey… you know what? Just… go."

For once, however, he isn't fazed by her words and remains standing stoically. They stare each other down, as the dices are falling. Harvey takes another step towards her and motions to that tiny space at the side of her bed while looking at her questioningly. There is the tiniest of nods, before she inches sidewards a little, making more room for Harvey.

"Donna, what does it mean?"

"What does _what_ mean?" Donna retorts, feigning ignorance.

Harvey crooks his head slightly, his eyes softening in an attempt to somehow ease the tension between them. "You know what I mean…"

"Well, you tell me, Harvey! It's not been that long ago that you told me you still get off to images of the other time. What does _that_ mean?" Donna wants to know in return, obviously not willing to take a step towards him.

A deafening silence stretches between them that seems to last for an eternity. Harvey contemplates how to possibly continue this conversation, when he sees the look on her face changing from hopeful anger to agonizing defeat.

Before he has a chance to react or to answer her question, Donna beats him to it; frustration and rage battling for dominance on her face. "Of course…." she exhales heavily. "Harvey, you have two more seconds to get out of here so that we can pretend this never happened." Her voice is deep and threatening; Donna seeming to reach that level of anger with him quicker and more often with every day that passes.

Harvey remains unmoving as they simultaneously count the seconds down in their minds. A tiny part of him wants to go. Wants to run far, far away and pretend that this little episode has indeed never happened because he knows that whatever would happen next had the power to destroy them and make her leave for good. But there is a bigger part, an overwhelming part that wants to stay. Wants to kiss her and love her, the way he should have kissed and loved her all those years in the past, ever since she came into his life.

"For God's sake, Harvey, what do you want? Fuck me? And _then_ pretend it didn't happen in the morning?"

Harvey cringes visibly upon hearing her harsh words. "Donna," he begins, reaching for the hand that's lying closest to him and engulfing it with both of this. "You and I both know that _fucking_ is the last thing we'll ever do." He takes a deep breath, knowing that his next words would change their future forever. "I _love_ you. I have loved you since the day we've met. I know I have been too broken and blind and scared… but it's the truth. And I don't want to hide it anymore."

Donna stares at him with a shocked expression, letting Harvey believe for just a second that he might have interpreted the whole situation wrong after all. But he continues anyway because if anything, she needed to hear what he had to say. "But I don't just love you, Donna. I'm _in love_ with you. And _that_ I want to hide even less."

"Harvey…" The resentment has disappeared from her voice altogether as she looks into his eyes with still a little caution but with a lot more longing.

"Tell me it's not too late for us," Harvey pleads, his voice soft and insistent.

Donna is still at a loss for words because despite having hoped for those words to one day leave his lips again, like _this_, now that he has said them, she can't actually believe that the moment has finally arrived. His thumb is drawing tiny circles on her palm, the movement slowly calming the storm inside her head.

"Why now?" Donna asks instead of answering his question.

"Hasn't it been too long already?" Harvey counters.

A small smile and another barely noticeable nod answer his question and spark a flicker of hope inside of him. Hope, that turns into courage when her hand squeezes his and a breathy sigh parts her lips.

"And you're sure about this?" Donna asks for one last reassurance that's immediately repaid with a convincing nod.

"Never been more sure of anything in my life," Harvey says, as he inches closer to her, eyes never leaving Donna's face.

"If we cross this line again, we can never go back," Donna states seriously but her expression is already beginning to sparkle with hope and joy.

"You mean, just like we haven't really been able to go back ever since the last time it happened?" He's moving in for real now, his face nearing hers. Anticipation fills the air between them that's already jittering with tension.

"I…" Donna begins, but Harvey's proximity makes it increasingly difficult to concentrate. "Yeah… I guess…" only inches away, his warm breath is already softly caressing her face as he comes ever closer. "You're right…" Her tongue darts out to wet her lips for the fraction of a second. "… about that." She sighs and the next thing she knows - the next thing she _feels_ \- are his warm lips against hers.

Galaxies collide and stars explode around them when their mouths connect; the knowledge and the realization that this is only the beginning adding further to the intensity of the kiss. It starts out gently and tentatively enough, their lips reacquainting themselves with each other like this. Soon however the tension of minutes, hours and years past takes over, and with their faces still fused together, Donna sinks back down into her pillows while Harvey gracefully slides beneath the blanket and right on top of her.

Only then do they break apart for a moment, looking at each other reverently. Mirroring smiles tug at the corner of their lips and elation dances in their eyes.

"Is this okay?" Harvey whispers, still not really able to believe that he's lying in Donna's bed. Again. After all this time.

"Harvey… kiss me," Donna simply replies, her hand sliding from his neck to the back of his head and gently pulling him towards her. He obeys without hesitation, closing the distance again to reconnect their lips.

The heat between them intensifies immediately, both still turned on from what had transpired mere minutes ago, now only accumulated all the more due to the words and the truth that had finally been voiced. Donna is still holding on to his head and his shoulder, as he settles himself more fully on top of her, gradually giving her some of his weight in the process. They both hiss when his hard groin comes into contact with her heated center and instinctively Donna wraps one leg around his hip, pulling him closer still. For a while, they remain exactly like this.

Kissing.

Touching.

_Feeling_.

Each other. And the emotions coursing through them.

Lust.

Longing.

_Love_.

Breathy sighs increase in volume until they turn into groans, when Harvey breaks the kiss and lets his lips explore every inch of her skin.

Teasingly.

Demandingly.

_Intensely_.

It makes her squirm, the way he alternates between hungry kisses and gentle nibbles, between soft caresses and purposeful strokes. It feels like her whole body is on fire that is fueled by his passion which is fueled by her encouraging moans. He is relentless in his endeavor to cover her entire body, ridding her of her nightgown before his focus shifts to learning about every freckle, every crease and every spot that drives her wild; not that he could ever forget about any of those in all the years they hadn't been together.

Only when he is satisfied, when she's trembling beneath him, when she urges him back up with her hands, does he kiss his way back; leaving a hot and wet trail with his tongue and his lips. Their mouths mash passionately once more, Donna sucking in his lower lip which elicits a deep and warning growl. The pressure inside of him builds and in an attempt to release at least some of it, he begins to grind against her center, the flimsy silk of her panties all but a weak barrier that leaves nothing to the imagination. He can feel her heat emanating from her skin but even more so from between her legs.

Tantalizingly.

Provokingly.

_Invitingly_.

What Harvey has achieved with his mouth, Donna aims to do with her hands. Circling fingertips and scratching nails, roaming possessively over his back and his butt, no doubt leaving her physical mark on him for days to come; while another mark, an invisible one, ingrains itself into his soul. Blurring with the one she had already left there over a decade ago, when their hands had clasped each other for the very first time in that bar.

Between impatient touches, Harvey loses his t-shirt and because they both can't take it anymore, they hastily shed the remaining underwear as well. Harvey slides right back on top of her and breaths and moans get stuck in their throats when skin touches skin and no more space is left between them.

It's staggering.

Overpowering.

_Intimate_.

More intimate than either of them had ever experienced because nothing could compare to being naked with the love of your life. Harvey wishes they could just stay like this forever. In their cocoon of warmth and passion and _them_.

But he needs more.

Now.

_Always_.

Donna's demanding hands, the way she sighs his name and the way her eyes burn into his, let him know that she needs him just as much.

With her.

_Inside of her_.

She reaches for him, between them, her grip firm and commanding, and Harvey presses out a moan that leaves his whole body shaking. Their gazes lock as Donna begins to stroke him; his length growing harder than he'd ever thought possible beneath her insistent caresses and her probing eyes.

"Me moaning your name and some kissing is all it takes to get you this hard?" Donna breathes against his lips teasingly.

Her voice oozes desire and sex and it's almost enough to push Harvey to the point of no return right there. "Sometimes it takes even less than that," he croaks out, as her tongue slides along his upper lip for a moment.

"Tell me," Donna challenges him, as her fingers rotate at the tip, before sliding down again in an even movement.

"Donna," Harvey murmurs helplessly. "I'll make sure to tell you about every single time it happens in the future. But right now, I just need to be inside of you."

"Need?" Donna chuckles throatily but sobers up a second later, when Harvey positions himself more purposefully between her legs.

"Need," Harvey confirms, the word loaded with the culmination of memories and feelings of twelve years past.

Haunting.

Overwhelming.

_All-consuming_.

Harvey sneaks his hand to where they would soon be joined, finding Donna more than ready for him. "God… you're so wet," he hisses, the burning desire to just bury himself in her almost becoming too resounding.

"Don't take too much pride in yourself, mister. I was already halfway there before you interrupted me."

For a moment, Harvey had almost forgotten how they had ended up here in the first place but the teasing in Donna's voice chases away the last remnants of embarrassment or guilt that might have still resided there.

Their laughs morph into soft smiles and the tension between them overstrains when Harvey takes a hold of his hardness and guides himself into her welcoming body at last.

Deep.

Penetrating.

_Fulfilling_.

Emotionally and physically, they feel closer to each other than ever before. Closer than with anyone else ever before. Which doesn't surprise them. But overwhelms them just the same.

For a moment, they pause. Donna adjusting to his length, Harvey to the heat engulfing him. Both of them to their newfound reality, that seems like a dream.

And then Harvey starts to move. Pulling almost all the way out, then thrusting back in, deeper than before. They find a rhythm as easily and effortlessly as they always had, here and there and everywhere.

It's slow.

Gentle.

_Deeper still_.

Hands roaming, mouths kissing. Leisurely at times; unhurried. But turning more passionate with every stroke, with every moan. Muscles dance beneath skin, yearning to be touched; yearning _to_ touch. It feels like nothing had changed at all, like they hadn't changed at all. And yet, it also feels so exhilaratingly new, that they wish they could stop time or at least slow down, just so they could take it all in.

How perfectly they fit. Him into her. Her into him. And them into each other's arms and lives.

How good it feels. Her hand caressing his heated back. His hungry lips coaxing hers. Their bodies uniting effortlessly and purposefully, over and over and over again.

How incredibly mind-blowing it _is_. Her legs around his waist, taking all of him in. His hips surging powerfully, guided by desire and need and love. Their prepossessing cadence, leading them closer to the edge.

They know they won't last. Know that they've only just begun. _Know_ that they have the rest of their lives. For this. For _everything_.

Donna's touches urge him on, as do her words and sighs and kisses. Instinct takes over, filling Harvey's strokes with vigor and intent.

Harder.

Relentless.

_Chasing._

After their fall. After their rise. Together.

Thrusts turn unrhythmic.

Haphazardly.

_Hasty_.

But hard and fast and _breathtaking_.

And then galaxies collide once more, stars exploding around them, when first Donna tumbles over the edge and then Harvey right after her; the throes of her ecstasy pulling him right along with her. His walls contract firmly around his length, rippling as he bumps into her a few more times and prolonging her rush only that much more. When Harvey's muscles give out at last, he finds solace in her embrace. His heart is racing and blood is rushing in his ears so prominently, that he almost misses Donna's breathless '_I love you'_ whispered against his ear.

Her hand has resumed its place at the back of his head, gently stroking his damp hair as they both calm down from one of the most intense experiences they have ever had. Harvey can't really move just yet, his whole body still quivering and humming from his fading orgasm, so instead he presses his lips against the side of her neck, while his '_I love you, too' _isreverberating silently through the night.

Under protests, Harvey slides off of Donna minutes later, but only far enough to not load her with the entirety of his weight any longer. His face is still buried in the crook of her neck, where he tries to even his breathing by concentrating on her overwhelming but calming scent. His right arm is resting comfortably across her upper body, while his right leg is resting between hers.

"I'm not crushing you, am I?" Harvey breaths against her heated skin.

"No, I'm good. Don't you dare move away any further," Donna threatens with a throaty sigh. She presses her lips against his forehead and lets them linger there for a moment longer.

"That was… incredible… _You_ are incredible," Harvey sighs, wrapping himself around her even more securely than before.

"Looks like Lipschitz really did turn you into a sap after all," Donna smiles, still a little breathless.

"Looks like it, yeah," Harvey agrees, nuzzling her neck.

"But I do believe that it fixed you more than it broke you," Donna mumbles against his hair. She breathes him in; the scent of him and her and their love having spread all over him. The realization of what they had just done, of what it _means_, triggers a feeling of happiness and deep contentment to take hold of every nerve ending in her body.

"I think so, too," Harvey concurs with a nod, his own smile spreading.

"I can't believe you're really here now…"

"I am," Harvey reassures her. "And I have every intention on staying right here. Forever."

"Hmm," Donna croons softly, inching even closer into his embrace. "Forever seems like a long time."

"It won't be nearly long enough," Harvey sighs, his heart pounding with love for the woman in his arms. "But we'll make every second of forever count."

~o~o~

* * *

_A/N: My biggest thanks go out to Nanna and Emily, who have been true heroes and without whom this fic would have probably found its way into the trashbin at least those dozen times I asked myself why I wanted to take this on in the first place. THANK YOU! xoxo_

_And thank yous to everyone who keeps reading my fics and to all of you who always keep reviewing! You truly know how to make a writer feel special and how to keep a writer motivated. It wouldn't be possible without you!_

_With love and gratitude_

_Nat_


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